Your Longest Break and How You Came Back

[iamthelazerviking]

How long of a break have you had to take from paintball? And what brought you back/how did you get back into it?

Usually it's life circumstances that pull us away vs just wanting to quit. Unfortunately the fun stuff has to be put on the back burner sometimes. With how expensive everything has become, having young kids, and for me, making a 2.5 hour round trip just to play, sadly it's not feasible right now.

I'm still keeping myself up to date with all things paintball, but that burning desire to get out there will never go away!

Ideally I'd love to be able to save X amount each month, then when the time is right be able to buy gear and play again - even if it's a handful of times per year.

[Glovebox Operator]

Probably about 15 years. Everything change while I was away. I'm so happy I found my way back, and am so glad I'm not a broke teenager anymore.

[JonM]

Mine was for about ten years. I stepped back when my kids were little since they were my top priority and I needed to focus my time and finances on them. However, in 2013 I was asked by Lurchness Monster to join Hansbury's Horde (which later became The Expandables). By that point, my kids were older and I could afford to play again. The rest is history.

[MrKittyCatMeowFace]

I really played only a handful of times post high school. Maybe 10 times max from 2019-2024. And all but one or 2 of those were just rec days. End of June Fox's is closing. I would like to go if transportation and weather holds up. It's possible I may check out Fort Knox paintballs xbox vs playstation scenario event in July. But only for an afternoon, if I have nothing going on. Since I plan on hanging out in the lot of deer creek for Phish. So boredom. But in the case of Fox. To pay respect for an historic field. I have no doubt that I would have a great time playing a friendly rec game.

[GattoDiavolo]

Roughly about 12 years. I played at least monthly 2004-2010, but new house, new car, new baby on the way sapped my finances. Paintball became too much of a luxury to play so often. My paintball team broke up and folks moved away so I lost the social aspect too. The last scenario game I played was Castle Conquest at EMR in 2015 as a one-off roll-with-my-old teammates" thing. I went down to maybe 1 game a year or less.

I never totally lost the itch, though. So, I generally maintained my gear, built up 2 new pump guns, and would organize an office game once a year. Now, my kids are older and I'm trying to share some of "Dad's hobbies" and take them out to play and see if they get bit by the paintball bug.

[trashcollector]

13 years. Last played a tournament in college. A friend found my collection and reignited the spark last year.

[RPP]

6 years. Broke student. Played 1 time over those 6 years for my bachelor party. Legitimately lost the bug during that time. As soon as I was done.... it magically came back with a passion. I'm sure the greater amount of disposable income helped lol.

[Cdn_Cuda]

I've ebbed and flowed as the years have gone by. Played a lot before getting married, build some custom markers in early 2000s when things were cheap and plentiful. Then slowly died down, played once or twice every few years. Got a dog, so attention when to that for training etc, kids came along next and didn't play at all, but kept a few markers. Then got into tinker with markers and started buying and selling locally, then expanded to larger markers. Have enjoying hunting for fun markers and getting them (mostly functional) and am looking to host a potentially large private rental at my field later this year and introduce a whole bunch of new people to paintball. My kids are interested, but still on the young side. They help me clear markers and shoot hem at the side the yard. My oldest is 12 now and want to practice shooting more before playing, which is very sensible.

[StaticShocked]

Two decades. Started with outlaw woods ball in 1999, transitioned to rec play, and then tournaments in 2003. By end of 2004 work and higher-education took priority so most of the gear got sold off. Didn't think about paintball for decade, then purchased some "prefilled" co2 tanks i saw on sale at walmart to show the kids my old markers and were a leaky mess (complete fail). Then another decade passed and I don't know what made me think of paintball again. But in 2025 i looked up a field and said i am going. Bought an Axe on sale and went to play and i wonder how i ever stopped for that long.

The most shocking thing coming back after 20 years is that paint is the same price as it was back then and that markers have gotten so freaking reliable. Like i carry a squeegee for nostalgia and to loan out... I only use it when it rains...

[tko33]

20 YEARS as well!! Started in the early 90's and a career choice put an end to my true passion around 2005. Forced to work weekends in the beginning made it difficult to continue playing competitively. I tried to play occasionally but work demands continued. I got married and started a family and eventually threw the gear in the rafters. I did not play again until last year. I joined my son for a friend's birthday party at Hollywood Sports and the bug bit him as bad as it did to me back when I started. It also re-ignited my passion as if I never left. Other than my brain still thinks I am 20ish years old and my body is reminding me 55 takes a little extra work to stay mobile!! I revived my original WGP mini-cocker and am back in 100%!! I even started collecting various marker brands I missed out on throughout the years, along with adding to my Autococker collection! The best part is now watching my son (13 years) grow and get better every time we play. After the third time playing, he came up and gave me a big hug and said, "Thank you for introducing me to this amazing sport and community!" Words can't describe how that feels!! Yes, the game and gear have changed, but the paintball community as whole is still amazing. We are part of a niche sport and all family! I can't wait to see where the sport goes and to continue creating memories with my boy!

[iamthelazerviking]

That's so awesome. I have 3 girls, I hope one of the older two will want to try it out when they're old enough

[tko33]

That would be so cool for you! I have a daughter same age as my boy (twins!), but she is afraid to get hit! I'm hoping she will come around to maybe give it a try someday! I might have to start her out with gel blasters...haha!!!

[Ecapnation]

Took a year break a few years ago due to an on field incident where a cheating player took a swing at me in front of the field operations manager.

Lss.....he dead man walked i shot him he refused to leave proceeded to point blank a rental kids i put an entire hopper into him center mass he swung at me i ducked it. People rushed in to break it up at this point because they knew it wasn't going to go well

At that point i was like the game sucks. Players suck. Ef this.

I'm back but purposely avoid certain local games now

[gabe]

15 years for me. I stopped playing all the time in 2010 but played a few games here and there through 2013. Normal story; grew up, moved out, got a job, life started happening. Ended up chasing other interests for a while before coming back in 2018. Played regularly through 2022 but these days I have too many hobbies and paintball is again on the back burner.

Don't know what it is but paintball will always bring me back for the nostalgia. RC cars have taken over for me recently just because the racing scene is having a huge resurgence. Would be nice to see paintball have a similar resurgence in popularity. I'm seeing more paintball reels on IG so who knows maybe our time is near.

[Calvin]

17 years off for me. I started in HS in 1988 with a Splatmaster. From freshman year of college on, my main focus was Ultimate Frisbee at the college and then club level. I got friends on my team to start playing with me in the summer of 93. We continued to play on private land through 2001ish. Those were wonderful games of pure flank running that will never be replicated. I kept playing at local fields and some larger regional events until the 2nd kid arrived in 2008. By then it was just me still playing and the time required to packup, get to the field, play, get home, and clean gear was just not realistic with the family. In 2012, I sold all my stuff except my masks, pods, harness since I knew all the orings would go to shit over time anyways. I had so much crap that I still had boxes of parts n stuff that had surfaced throughout the subsequent years.

Last year some of my younger Ultimate friends discussed me organizing a day to play at a nearby field. While looking into it, the old flame relit, and I realized I really didnt even care if they were involved. Started rebuilding last fall and have been at it whenever life allows. I did get that group out to the field this spring, so that promise was eventually fulfulled.

I think it was the airsmithing that I missed the most. It was always my job to keep everything running back in the day. Took me a couple months to get my chops back, but I really enjoy making old junk into functional equipment. I also really enjoy talking to people at the field. I think getting older has made me appreciate the people willing to do silly shit with me much more.

[OpusX]

8 year gap 09-17. I sold out in 2009 thinking I hadnt played much and it was time to move on. That was stupid 😂

2017 rolls around and the old college baller crew fires up a text chat saying "we're getting the band back together for one more show" and the bug bit me as hard as it ever did.

It was great to get back to that feeling. I play when I can with this year being some of the best I've had.

[DocsMachine]

Heh. Define "off".

Prior to starting this gig, I can honestly say I played just about as often as I could, after discovering the sport.

Fast forward a [cough] few years, and I started my business in the middle of 1998. And this has been my literal day job ever since- in a little under a month, I'll have been doing this for twenty-eight years, solid.

Same shop, same name, same surly, ill-tempered and underpaid employees, same shoddy products that you all seem to keep buying for some reason...

BUT... as for, y'know... actually playing...?

The last local field closed back in 2018, and as it stands, I haven't even heard of any outlaw groups. The local Wal-Mart doesn't carry any gear anymore, save for one, singular, case of paint in their cabinet, and it has a layer of dust on it. Paintball gear of any stripe is almost never listed on the local FBMP or Craigslist, and the two churches that years ago used to provide space for the kids to play (to keep them away from those wicked video games and alcohol) have bulldozed them flat and turned them into soccer fields.

If I wanted to play a game, I have to either drive three hours up to Anchorage, or spend two weeks calling every friend, friend-of-a-friend, son-of-a-friend and random passerby just to get half a dozen people together- and I'd likely have to supply the gear for most of them. (Which I can, natch. )

So on one hand, yeah, to this day I live paintball... but it's been a while since I actually played paintball.

Doc.

[gabe]

We need a centralized Alaska paintball board or something to organize woodsball games. Kind of sad with all this public land and paintball nerds that nobody can put together a game.